Police Eastern District commander Superintendent Sandra Venables was unable to be contacted last night by Hawke's Bay Today but she said, last August, new roles had been created under a new police operating model, such as neighbourhood policing teams, the crime reporting line and criminal justice support units.
In November she said the district was conducting a review of all frontline positions to see how staff and resources could be used more efficiently.
"While frontline staff numbers will not be reduced, there may be changes to some roles," she said at the time. "It's all about putting our staff in the right places at the right time to prevent and respond appropriately to crime in our community."
Mr Nash says the Government has allowed the number of constables handling crime and complaints to fall year after year, and latest available data showed the district has the highest rate of criminal offences per 10,000 people of any of the districts throughout the country.
He said the review in the region "looks likely" to see a drop from 436 sworn staff down to 417 in the district.
"In the context of these statistics, it seems astounding that in this year's budget the Government cut a whopping $15.3 million from funding to the New Zealand police force," he said.
"Police budgets have been frozen for five years and these cuts will see fewer community and rural constables. This is a major issue in Napier, where we are already seeing resourcing decisions lead to cuts in police numbers and reduced services. Police say they want a higher presence in New Zealand communities, but this is not achievable without adequate resources, and we are now seeing the opposite happen", he said.
